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- PARIS (AFP) - Human ingenuity
knows no bounds. The spirit of innovation has powered progress since the
creation of the first handaxe. And the 20th century has seen an explosion
of inventive genius unparalleled in history.
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- The distinctive creations of the century have not all
been the work of the scientists. Far from it. The hamburger, for example,
evolved out of popular eating habits in North America, with a strong contribution
from German immigrants devoted to the finely chopped beef of their native
Hamburg.
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- Inventions often, though not invariably, brought fame
and wealth to their originators, with the name of successful manufacturers
such as Hoover passing into the language.
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- The majority of the century's inventions have been designed
to improve the quality of life, particularly in the home, in such areas
as food, clothing and leisure.
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- Some, though, are associated with death, either by design
or, as in the case of the motor car, as a by-product. Sometimes the side-effects,
as with the apparently inoffensive aerosol can, have been such as to threaten
the continued existence of life itself.
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- Here, chosen at random, are 20 of the inventions and
objects that have contributed most to making life what it is in the century
now ending.
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- GRAMOPHONE. Invented by Thomas Alva Edison in 1898, reached
maturity in the age of the Beatles and Elvis Presley, superseded by digital
technology (CDs) in the 1980s, and facing extinction in the 21st century
as music delivered by internet takes over.
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- VACUUM FLASK, or Thermos. Conceived by Scottish scientist
James Dewar who left it to one of his students, Reinhold Burger, to begin
industrial production in 1904. Widely used by airmen in World War II bombing
flights.
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- HAMBURGER. Despite German name, is wholly American. First
officially recorded in St Louis, Missouri, in 1904. Became firmly established
in prewar US, then identified with postwar youth culture. Widely blamed
for decline in national culinary traditions worldwide and end of civilisation
as we know it.
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- NEON LIGHTING. Displayed for the first time at the 1910
Paris Motor Show. Developed by French physicist Georges Claude, is highly
efficient and generates little heat. Neon advertising featuring the word
"Cinzano" appeared in 1912.
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- ZIP, or zipper. Invented by Swede Gideon Sundback and
patented in 1913. First widely used in pilots' flying jackets in World
War I. In 1934 Britain's Prince of Wales set fashion trend by using a zip
for flies in trousers. Was featured prominently in 1971 Rolling Stones
album cover.
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- BRASSIERE, or bra. Patented by US designer Mary Phelps
in 1914, burnt by feminists worldwide in the 1970s. Ended the tyranny of
the whale-bone corset. An early version consisted of two handkerchiefs
tied together.
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- IDENTITY PAPERS. Introduced widely after World War I.
Voluntary at first, became obligatory in many countries. Sometimes used
as instrument of political repression. Scorned in many English-speaking
and Scandinavian countries.
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- AEROSOL. Invented in 1926 by Norwegian engineer Erik
Rothheim, initially used for spraying paint, polish and insecticide. Now
much favoured by graffiti artists. In the 1990s, aerosol gases were found
to seriously damage the ozone layer.
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- CHAINSAW. German Emil Lerp demonstrated the first petrol-engine
sawing machine in forests of Thuringia in 1927, a year after compatriot
Andreas Stihl developed an electrically driven saw. A boon to wood-cutters.
Cinematically associated with massacres.
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- PARKING METER. Introduced in Oklahoma City in 1935. Coin-operated
device, since updated to accept cards. Augmented in the 1960s by dreaded
parking wardens, or "meter maids" as immortalised by the Beatles
in their serenade to "Lovely Rita" (1967).
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- SUPERMARKET TROLLEY. Introduced in 1937 by Sylvan Goldmann,
manager of the Humpty Dumpty supermarket in Oklahoma City. World's most-used
four-wheel vehicle after the motor car. Can be used by the homeless to
carry possessions.
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- INSTANT COFFEE. Invented in 1937 by Swiss firm Nestle
using a freeze-drying process. The method was adapted to other foods, making
"instant" a widely-applied epithet, sometimes pejorative. The
instant variety accounts for 90 percent of all coffee consumed in Britain.
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- BALL-POINT PEN, or biro, named after the Hungarian Laszlo
Biro who patented the device in 1938 after an original idea by John J.
Loud, a US citizen, registered in 1888. Bic version now sells three billion
a year around the world.
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- LSD (lysergic diethylamid acid), or simply "acid".
Mind-expanding substance whose effects were discovered accidentially in
1943 by Swiss researcher Albert Hofmann. Tab that launched a million trips.
Banned in US in 1968 despite popularising efforts of rock groups such as
Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd.
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- TEE-SHIRT. In 1942 the US Navy issued a new "t-type"
undershirt, made out of white cotton, which became popular with troops
because of its effect on girls. Made fashionable by Marlon Brando. Used
for self-expression and protest slogans from 1960s onwards.
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- KALASHNIKOV, or AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova, 1947), after
its Russian inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov. Light, elegant, tried and tested
by 55 regular armies and innumerable guerrilla and terrorist groups. 60
million sold around the world, a record in its category.
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- VELCRO. Developed in 1956 by Swiss inventor George de
Mestral from a phenomenon he observed in nature 15 years earlier: the ability
of burrs to attach themselves to clothing by means of tiny hooks. Name
adapted from "VELours" (velvet) and "CROchet" (hook).
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- BARBIE DOLL. More than one billion sold since its launch
in 1959, according to manufacturer Mattel Inc. Targetted at 3-10 age group,
now selling 80 million per year worldwide. Electronic and internet versions
also available.
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- PLASTIC BAG, as in carrier bag or garbage bag. Derived
from invention of polythene by British chemist R.O. Gibson in 1933. Introduced
by local councils for refuse collection in 1960, now carried by shoppers
on every high street.
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- PULL-TOP, or ring-pull. Tear-off closure invented in
1962 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to boost the sales of canned beer, since
previous cans had needed a separate opener. Sparked crime wave in 1960s
when it was realised the rings could be used to jam parking meters (see
above).
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- (Sources: Liberation, Paris; "Century Makers",
by David Hillman and David Gibbs, London).
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